One of former Be Your Own Pet singer/former Nashvillian Jemina Pearl's current hometown papers, The New York Times, offers up their take on her new debut solo set, Break It Up.

The consensus? It's an "often terrific, and sometimes surprising album."

The Times praises current band mate/fellow ex-Be Your Own Petter John Eatherly's musical contributions, which are "almost never in her way," but gives a thumbs down to Pearl's Iggy Pop duet, "I Hate People," which, critic Jon Caramanica wrote, "peters out into shtick."

Read the Times' full rundown here, and catch Pearl and Co. at the Exit/In (2208 Elliston Place) on Sat., Oct. 11, as part of the Next Big Nashville festival. Her set is scheduled for 11:45 p.m.

Although we can't exactly claim them as a local band anymore -- having lost some members to Ohio and New York -- electronic-pop crew Venus Hum grew up out of Nashville, so we'll claim them just the same.

And the trio, which these days is going the indie route after a stint on major label MCA in the early 2000s, has just released a new album, Mechanics & Mathematics, on their own Mono-Fi label. You can stream/purchase the album via Bandcamp here and you can also catch a rare live-back-in-Nashville appearance from the band twice today (Fri., Oct. 9).

The trio first stops by Magpie Etc. (2227 10th Ave. S. ) for an acoustic show/CD listening party from 6–8 p.m, which is free and open to the public.

Then at 9:30 p.m., Venus Hum plays the Rutledge (410 Fourth Ave. S.) as part of the Next Big Nashville fest, alongside the Champion and His Burning Flame, Telephant, Pico vs. Island Trees and Butterfly Boucher.

If you haven't already snagged your Next Big Nashville badge/wristband: The fest runs through Sat., Oct. 11 at various Nashville venues. VIP badges, which offer priority access to showcases and admission to the festival's conference, are $100; showcase wristbands are $40; some individual showcase tickets are also available. Visit www.nextbignashville.net for more information or to purchase.